When you picture a cheerleader, you probably imagine a woman. But in the early twentieth century, cheerleading was all done by men. Frank Guridy argues that the association of cheerleading with women is due to the growth of the sports industry, which has drawn ever more diverse people into sports previously dominated by elite white men. But increased diversity in the sports industry has also meant increased exploitation. Nonetheless, while the industry is exploitative, sports themselves don’t have to be: cheerleading is just one example of how sport can be a tool of survival and self-actualization for marginalized people.
Bonus clips
Further reading
A Brief History of Cheerleading – photo essay at Time
Jia Tolentino at The New Yorker – The pathos of “Cheer” and the wild deceptions of cheerleading
Jaime Schultz at The Conversation – Cheerleading’s peculiar path to potential Olympic sport
Christina Floozy at Vice – NFL Cheerleaders Need a Union
Live Science – Girls’ Most Dangerous Sport: Cheerleading
Pat Eaton-Robb at NBC News – U.S. judge in Conn.: Cheerleading not a sport
Anna North at Vox – What’s next for the US women’s soccer team and their fight for equal pay
Amanda Ottaway at The Nation – Why Don’t People Watch Women’s Sports?
Brigid Schulte at The Washington Post – Veteran teacher says sports divide is as much about race and class as gender